FIPA Law
(Official Gazette of BiH No. 56/04)
Pursuant to Article IV, Section 4(a) of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, at the session of the House of Peoples held on 23 November 2004, and at the session of the House of Representatives held on 2 December 2004, adopted
LAW
About the Agency for the Promotion of Foreign Investment in Bosnia and Herzegovina
I - General Provisions
Article 1.
This Act establishes the Agency for the Promotion of Foreign Investments in Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the Agency) and regulates its status, competence, management, organisation and other matters of importance to its work.
Article 2.
The Agency is an independent administrative organization.
The seat of the Agency shall be determined by a decision of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In accordance with its needs, the Agency may have regional offices within its structure.
The Agency has legal personality.
Article 3.
The name of the Agency is: The Agency for the Promotion of Foreign Investment in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Naziv Agencije na engleskom jeziku je: "Foreign Investment Promotion Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina".
The Agency's abbreviated name is "FIPA".
Article 4.
The Agency has a seal in accordance with the Law on the Seal of Institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Official Gazette of BiH, No. 12/98 and 14/03).
II - The Agency's intrusiveness
Article 5.
The Agency promotes and facilitates foreign direct investment in accordance with the law, decisions and guidelines of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Agency creates an image of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a modern state, a serious, competitive and secure partner for capital investment. To achieve the objective set out in the previous paragraph, the Agency:
provides information to potential investors on the legislation of Bosnia and Herzegovina;
directs investors to potential investment projects in entities, cantons, regions and individual sectors of the economy;
presents the advantages and characteristics relating to projects, namely: the legal, economic and financial framework, the tax system, the industrial environment, and the incentives provided to investors at the state, entity or lower level;
organises and/or participates in seminars, exhibitions and conferences at which the state is promoted;
Monitors and analyses the investment environment at national and international level;
proposes legislation and legislative measures with the aim of improving investment conditions;
participates in negotiations on interstate, bilateral and multilateral investment agreements;
initiates and maintains cooperation with the same or similar agencies of other countries.
III - Management, administration, and responsibility of the Agency
Article 6.
The Agency is headed by the Director in cooperation with the Deputy Director, the Secretary, in accordance with the law, the Rules on the Internal Organisation of the Agency and other general acts.
The Director of the Agency participates in the work of the Agency's Governing Board without the right to vote.
The Director of the Agency issues general acts of the Agency in accordance with the law.
Article 7.
The Director and Deputy Director of the Agency are appointed by the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the Council of Ministers), on the proposal of the Chairperson of the Council of Ministers, in accordance with the Law on the Civil Service in the Institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Director and Deputy Director are appointed by the Council of Ministers for a period of four years, with the possibility of reappointment for one further term.
The Secretary of the Agency is appointed in accordance with the Law on Public Service of the Institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Article 8.
The director, deputy director and secretary cannot be from the same constituent people of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Director and Deputy Director of the Agency are accountable to the Council of Ministers for their work.
Article 9.
The Board of Directors of the Agency consists of nine members.
Members of the Board of Directors are appointed for a two-year term.
The appointment of members of the Board of Directors is carried out as follows:
two members are appointed by the Council of Ministers of BiH;
one member is appointed by the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and one member by the Government of the Republika Srpska;
one member is appointed by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Bosnia and Herzegovina;
Two members represent the business community in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with one member being appointed by the Association of Employers in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the other by the Employers' Federation of Republika Srpska.
Two members represent the community of foreign investors in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and are appointed by the Association of Foreign Investors in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Article 10.
The responsibilities of the Management Board are:
Proposing the Agency's strategic objectives, in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the entity governments and the Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina;
proposing the Agency's business strategy, business plan and action plan;
consideration of the implementation and achievement of the Agency's objectives and work plan.
IV - Civil servants and employees of the Agency
Article 11.
The core functions assigned to the Agency by this Act are carried out by civil servants, who are appointed to positions established by the Law on Civil Service in the Institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The category of positions within the jobs performed by civil servants is determined by the Agency's Internal Organisational Regulations.
The Agency's auxiliary and technical duties are carried out by employees in accordance with the applicable regulations.
Article 12.
The Agency's website is accessible to the public.
Publicity of the Agency's work may be ensured or excluded only in cases provided for in the legislation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Agency has the right of access to information in accordance with the Law on Freedom of Access to Information in Bosnia and Herzegovina ("Official Gazette of Bosnia and Herzegovina", No. 28/00).
The Agency is obliged to maintain the complete confidentiality of any commercial information provided to it, such that it may only disclose it with the approval of the provider of the commercial services.
V - Internal Organisation of the Agency - Work Programme and Work Report
Article 13.
The internal organisation of the Agency is established by the Rules of Internal Organisation, adopted by the Director of the Agency with the approval of the Council of Ministers.
The rules on the internal organization of the Agency are confirmed:
organisational units and their remit;
a way of managing;
programming and execution of transactions;
powers and responsibilities of civil servants in the performance of their duties;
the total number of civil servants and employees for carrying out the work;
the title and schedule of posts by organisational units, with a description of the duties for each civil servant and employee, or for a group of civil servants and employees, together with the required qualifications and other conditions for work on specific posts;
The number of trainees to be taken on and the conditions for their recruitment.
Article 14.
The Director of the Agency is required to adopt a Work Programme for each year and to submit a report on its work.
The work programme and report on work are submitted to the Council of Ministers.
VI - Financing of the Agency
Article 15.
The Agency is financed from a budget comprising funds from the state budget and independent sources, in accordance with the Law on the Execution of the Budget of the Institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Bosnia and Herzegovina's International Obligations.
Article 16.
The financial operations of the Agency are audited by the Office for the Audit of Financial Operations of Institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
VII - Transitional and Final Provisions
Article 17.
On the date this Act enters into force, the Decision on the Establishment of the Agency for the Promotion of Foreign Investments in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Official Gazette of BiH, nos. 16/98, 15/99, 6/02 and 12/02) shall cease to have effect.
Article 18.
The rights, obligations and responsibilities of the Agency for the Promotion of Foreign Investment in Bosnia and Herzegovina, established by the Decision referred to in Article 17 of this Act, shall be assumed by the Agency established in accordance with this Act.
The period from the Agency's establishment by the decision referred to in Article 17 of this Act shall be taken into account when applying Article 7(2) of this Act.
Article 19.
This Act shall enter into force on the eighth day after its publication in the 'Official Gazette of BiH', and shall also be published in the official gazettes of the entities and the Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
PSBiH no. 118/04
2 December 2004
Sarajevo
Chairman of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, Martin Raguž, s. r.
Chairman of the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, Goran Milojević, s. r.